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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Malachite 37mm Watch

 
The watch that won the Super Bowl.
Audemars Piguet has launched a new Royal Oak Automatic watch in 37mm and 41mm yellow gold, featuring a malachite dial, further expanding its gem-set dial collection and continuing the brand's cautious exploration of fashionable gem-set dials.
Last month, Bad Bunny, the most-streamed musician in the Western Hemisphere, wore this yellow gold Royal Oak Automatic 37mm watch during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show. The watch's design is considered classic in watchmaking, and to be worn by the "King of Latin Traps" in front of over 100 million viewers is undoubtedly a major marketing victory for Audemars Piguet.
Bad Bunny's stylist, Storm Pablo, also endorsed the watch, purchasing one within days of its release. The pricing remains quite reasonable. The 37mm model is priced the same as the turquoise dial version released a few years ago, while the 41mm model is only 4% more expensive than the regular rose gold Royal Oak. In absolute terms, it's certainly a significant expense, but the higher price is justified.
It's worth noting that while brands typically price gemstone dials, the manufacturing cost of most gemstone dials is not high. For example, the raw material cost of malachite is negligible; mines in and around the Copperbelt province of Africa produce abundant gem-quality malachite.
Audemars Piguet made a wise choice, avoiding the sharply defined horizontal stripes common on most malachite dials; the Code 11.59 watch with a malachite dial released last year also adopted the same design. The result is a beautiful green dial, made of malachite.
Perhaps the only drawback of these two watches is that neither is a Jumbo model. A Jumbo model implies more ideal proportions, a more interesting movement, and the absence of a seconds hand—which always seems out of place on a non-chronograph Royal Oak, only distracting from the dial.
Malachite Green
Audemars Piguet is no stranger to jewel-encrusted dials—it seems every watchmaker operating between the 1960s and 1990s had a penchant for them. The brand has previously produced Royal Oak watches with jewel-encrusted dials, but to my knowledge, never one with a malachite dial.
Malachite is a secondary copper mineral, meaning it is formed near the earth's surface by the weathering (oxidation) of primary copper minerals (such as chalcopyrite—the most important commercial copper ore). Copper oxide gives malachite its vibrant green color, and variations in its concentration create its distinctive banded texture. Where there's smoke, there's fire; malachite and copper ore coexist.
After processing, these dials retain the same characteristics: polished malachite flakes adhere firmly to the brass dial base, providing stable support for this relatively fragile gemstone. Unlike the 37mm Royal Oak Turquoise Dial watch launched in 2023, this 37mm model lacks a date window, as does the larger 41mm model.

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Royal Oak
This 37mm model doesn't faithfully reproduce the classic design of the Royal Oak series as faithfully as its larger sibling. The bracelet is narrower relative to the case, with a greater taper and fewer side pads around the middle links. The polished chamfers on the case and bracelet are also noticeably wider, making the bracelet appear more slender. The final result, both in appearance and wearing comfort, doesn't quite resemble a one-piece bracelet.

The brand's recent message to watch enthusiasts focuses on ergonomics—a weak point in Audemars Piguet's complex movements, which they only surpassed last year, but Audemars Piguet has already perfected its bracelet design. Even without tool-free fine adjustment, the short link design ensures comfortable wear.
Like all modern Royal Oak watches with bracelets, the quality of this timepiece is immediately apparent. While older Royal Oak bracelets were relatively thin (not uncommon at the time) and tended to stretch slightly over time, the modern Royal Oak bracelet uses a more robust and durable material. The robust arm of the butterfly clasp seems somewhat superfluous on a Royal Oak, perhaps more suited to an Offshore model, but this thick clasp does balance the slightly heavy gold case.
Gold, once all the rage, is now an outcast in the world of precious metals. For example, Patek Philippe includes only two gold watches in its catalog of 173 models, and both were produced in relatively small quantities. This means that, in people's memory, Patek Philippe's gold watch production has plummeted from the vast majority of its total precious metal production to almost zero. Some brands have even experimented with reducing the "yellowness" of gold, such as Omega's "Moonshine Gold" and Breguet's namesake alloy launched last year.
Perhaps for this reason, Audemars Piguet seems to only use gold in niche models. In its current catalog, there are 16 gold mechanical watches, a third of which are skeletonized, and four have jeweled dials. Coincidentally, turquoise and malachite pair exceptionally well with gold, a fact Audemars Piguet clearly understands, as evidenced by their use in last year's Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon 38mm Jeweled Dial Trilogy.
This 37mm model is powered by the Vaucher-based Calibre 5909, equipped with two barrels providing a 60-hour power reserve. For a relatively small movement, this is a considerable power reserve, especially considering its 4Hz frequency. The movement boasts a high level of construction and decoration, comparable to the latest generation of Rolex movements and Seiko's Grand Seiko 9SA series movements, but slightly inferior to comparable automatic movements from Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.
The larger 41mm model houses the massive in-house 4309 movement, which, despite its size, is even more precise. Key upgrades include a 70-hour power reserve and bidirectional winding. This series of movements typically features an instantaneous date function, which this non-date model lacks.
Both watches feature a beautifully skeletonized 18K rose gold rotor, adorned with sharp, concave creases, indicating extremely high manufacturing costs. Unfortunately, due to the watch's gold construction, the rotor does not match the case. This is quite surprising, as Audemars Piguet now includes a gold rotor in its skeletonized gold Jumbo series watches, matching the case material.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Automatic Watch, Malachite Color, 41mm and 37mm
Reference No. 15513BA.OO.1320BA.01 (41mm)
Reference No. 15553BA.OO.1356BA.04 (37mm)
Diameter: 41mm or 37mm;
Height: 10.5mm or 9.3mm;
Material: 18K yellow gold;
Crystal: Sapphire crystal;
Water Resistance: 50 meters
Movement: Cal. 4309 (41mm), Cal. 5909 (37mm)
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Winding Method: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz)
Power Reserve: 70 hours (Cal. 4309), 60 hours (Cal. 5909)
Strap: 18K yellow gold bracelet